Remembering Richard Biggs

I didn't know him that well. Out of his 43 years, he spent a grand total of four days in my company at Aggiecon 27 in 1996. But even so, I think I owe Richard Biggs something of a memorial. He was a nice guy, and treated me well when we were together.



I remember while at the convention, a group of fans got to discussing Dr. Stephen Franklin's looming drug addiction to stimulants with him. He said that the stims storyline was his suggestion to JMS. He felt Dr. Franklin was too noble and too flawless on the show. In effect, he was a boring--if likeable--character. Boy, did that change. Only part of that season (the third, I believe) had aired, and at that point it seemed that Dr. Franklin had overcome his troubling addiction. Don't be too sure, warned Biggs. The character's got to hit rock bottom and lose everything before he can recover. Those words were borne out as the season progressed. And the character became much richer, to the betterment of the entire Babylon 5 story arc.

On Thursday night, as I mentioned in my earlier post, everyone went out to eat dinner at Tom's Barbecue. Tom's was an institution in Aggieland, serving your food on butcher paper with a large knife (forks were provided only if you asked). Biggs was dumbfounded by this arrangement--I want to say he was a vegetarian, but my memory is hazy, so don't quote me on that. The sheer volume of meat, in any event, he found overwhelming. He developed it into something of a standup routine as the con progressed: "They bring out a cow! A whole cow for each person! Huge slabs of meat thrown down in front of you!" Then he'd go into a fit of gnawing/growning noises like a pack of ravenous wolves. It was a huge hit with everyone.



As the con progressed, Saturday stretching into Sunday, I happened by the con suite and overheard the good people from Project: A-Kon (who've run the AggieCon con suite for more than a decade) lament that they hadn't had a chance to see Richard Biggs yet. When I saw him about an hour later, I mentioned this injustice to him. His immediate response was "Where is this con suite?" We hightailed it over there, and he put on an apron and began serving the con suit staff and anyone else who happened to be in the area. He made a point to pose for pictures with everyone, signed every autograph imaginable and went out of his way to hang out with them and make them feel appreciated. Now that's class. In an era where all too often actors and other celebrities won't sign anything unless they're paid to do it, Biggs had his priorities in order. He was one of the good guys, and has been said before, he will be missed.

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